The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 thanks to some clutch hitting and sensational pitching.
The Dodgers were riding a three-game losing streak at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, who swept LA in a three-game series.
Things were bleak for the Dodgers offensively, defensively, and even pitching-wise as they fell to 2-for-14 against teams above .500.
While the Tigers are below .500, they are still somehow in the Wild Card race and fought hard against the Dodgers, making the win mean more than Detroit’s record suggests.
The offense does just enough
The Dodgers got a good amount of traffic, totaling nine hits and a shocking nine walks, which created the bases loaded multiple times, though LA failed to get runs across the board.
Still, there was enough to eke out a victory, with a clutch RBI single from Freddie Freeman to get the second run on the board.
There were also a lot of strikeouts again, with nine in total, but the at-bats were definitely a lot better in terms of making the pitchers work hard and earn their outs.
Manager Dave Roberts will take it as a step in the right direction, but they need to be better with runners in scoring position and on base.
Tarik Skubal shines
Skubal pitched six innings, allowing four hits and no walks, with seven strikeouts.
He had six strikeouts in the first three innings of his start, but the lefty got fewer whiffs and called strikes as his outing went on.
Still, it was a stellar outing that could have gone longer, given he was only at 83 pitches when he left the game, but the Dodgers will certainly take that from their star pitcher in his return to Detroit.
He set up the bullpen well, with Evan Phillips throwing a great 1-2-3 outing that struck out the side. Brock Stewart was a bit more shaky, but Alex Vesia cleaned up his mess, and Tanner Scott got the save to bounce back.
